Good morning! Today’s the last day of Q3… and tomorrow, Q4 kicks off. Unless you’re at one of those companies that decided the normal calendar was too boring, and you’re somehow already reporting 2026 numbers. Either way, doesn’t it feel like Q3 lasted about two weeks? Now we’ve got one quarter left to make up for all the strategic slacking we’ve been doing since January. Get ready for the flood of “let’s reconnect in the new year” emails. Now let’s get into today’s Follow Up. (:
Does that make sense? 🗣
Lie’s your prospect is telling you 🧠
Remote reps making $150K+ 🤑
Sales jobs & a meme 😂
Sales Tip of The Day 💡
When you’re demoing your product, don’t ask, “Does that make sense?”. Ask them for a comparison.
❌ “So that’s how it works. Make sense?”
✅ “That’s how it works. How does this compare to the way you’re handling {problem} today?”
This forces them to connect your feature to their reality, and surfaces objections early instead of at the end.
Your next big deal announced itself last week. Did your team notice?
It’s not realistic for reps to keep up with every single datapoint that tells them a prospect is in-market or showing intent.
Avina surfaces buying signals your reps miss - like when a champion changes jobs, when a company is lurking on your pricing page, or even custom signals like target accounts that launched a product in the last 30 days.
There’s a whole hidden pipeline out there waiting for you.
Avina helps generate an average of $270k in new pipeline every month.
5 Lies Your Prospects Are Telling You And What They Really Mean.
People lie because they don’t like to go outside of their comfort zones.
And your prospects are no exception.
Being sold something feels scary and risky.
So when you go on that sales call with your slick sales pitch, they’re usually gonna choose comfort. And lie.
Today, we’re showing up in your inbox with the 5 most common lies prospects tell you.
But don’t worry. We’re also translating what they mean and how to get around them.
1. “We don’t have budget right now.”
For as long as humans have had to budget, they’ve made space for the things they want and argued against others.
And they blame the budget.
Translation: “We have the budget. We just don’t feel like giving it to you.”
“It’s not in the budget” is sales speak for “You haven’t shown me the value.” Sure, sometimes they really do have a limited budget. Just like everyone.
But more often than not, your prospect just doesn’t see how your product is going to make their lives or business any better.
On the flip side, once they see the value, they’ll find budget.
The Workaround: Don’t fight it. Work around it, and show the value they’ll get if they find the budget.
When you show the prospect the value you’ll bring, the budget suddenly has space for you.
2. “We’re happy with our current vendor.”
Translation: “We’re in a relationship with someone else. But show us that you’re better, and we’ll leave them.”
You know it. We know it. They know it.
Of course, they’re going to swear loyalty to their current vendor… but if they’re interested in talking with you, you know they’ve got issues.
What are your prospects really saying? It’s too much of a pain to move.
(Psst! They don’t trust you to make moving worth their while.)
Get your prospect to tell you what they love about their current vendor, and what they might change if they could wave a magic wand.
Then, (casually) show them how you’re different & better.
Find the cracks in the foundation (Yes, they exist.) and exploit them.
3. “I’ll review your materials and get back to you.”
No, they won’t. And even if they do, they probably won’t discuss it with decision-makers.
And they certainly won’t get back to you.
Translation: “You’re gonna have to chase me down, or you’re probably never gonna hear from me again.”
Yes. You’re on the verge of being ghosted. They don’t want to have to tell you no, so this is a much easier way of getting rid of you..
What to do: Always lock in next steps.
Schedule the next call, meeting, or the exact day they’ll be getting back to you.
If they refuse, then at least you now have your “No”.
4. “I have to check in with [decision maker] first.”
What is this prospect really saying? This one’s easy. The only time a prospect is gonna say this is when they don’t have the power to give you a yes or no themselves.
If you do find yourself talking to someone lower in the organization, the conversation should focus on how to get the decision-maker on the phone.
The Workaround: Lean in. Ask about who they need to talk with on their team. Suggest a next call that includes the stakeholders.
5. “Let’s circle back.”
Translation: “I don’t want to say no, and this is the easiest way to get you out of my hair for a while.”
It’s a polite brush-off. Like when parents tell their kids, “Maybe”. Even the 5-year-old knows maybe means no.
The Workaround: Take back control of the imaginary football. Create actionable next steps by setting a date and reason for the next touchpoint. The prospect has no real sense of urgency and doesn’t see the value of your product right now.
It’s your job to figure out if there’s an opportunity in the future, or if this is just another polite way of saying “No”.
What lie from your prospects do you hear the most?
